English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

The prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia is increasing in Japan owing to the aging population. It is important to examine the age-related decline of cognitive function and prevent the onset of dementia [1,2]. Cognitive function, especially executive function, is required for functional mobility and is required for making decisions and solving problems. Furthermore, executive function helps the elderly maintain their independence. Executive function plays a role in controlling attention and judgment about one’s surroundings and maintaining daily quality of life [3]. Cognitive dysfunction is associated with cerebral hypoperfusion and vascular dysfunction [4,5]. Increases in central arterial stiffness are correlated with cerebral arterial lesions and decreased cognitive function, including memory and executive processes in older individuals [6,7]. Recently, we reported that arterial stiffness is associated with executive function in middle-aged and older adults [8]. Moreover, postmenopausal depletion of sex hormones was found to contribute to a higher risk of dementia and accelerate the increase in arterial stiffness [9]. Therefore, it is important to further investigate executive function and arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women. Blood plasma homocysteine is an amino acid that is associated with the methyl donor, methionine, and helps to regulate intracellular metabolism [10]. Homocysteine stimulates oxidative stress and increases matrix metalloproteinase activity, which contributes to vascular damage and endothelial dysfunction [11]. It has been reported that homocysteine levels increase after menopause, and hyperhomocysteine is a risk factor for arteriosclerosis [12], myocardial infarction [13,14], and ischemic cerebrovascular disorder [15]. A meta-analysis revealed that a high blood concentration of homocysteine might be the cause of cerebrovascular disease [16]. It has been reported that hyperhomocysteine is associated with dementia in Alzheimer’s disease [17]. In addition, it has been shown that blood homocysteine levels are associated with cognitive decline and dementia [18–20]. It is plausible that these detrimental effects of homocysteine on the vasculature could affect executive function. Mooijaart et al. [21] reported that elevated homocysteine levels were associated with cognitive impairment in individuals over 85 years. Although both plasma homocysteine and arterial stiffness may affect executive function, the causal relationships are not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the association between executive function, arterial stiffness, and plasma homocysteine in postmenopausal women using a cross-sectional design.

The Association between Homocysteine, Arterial Stiffness and Executive Function Middle-age and Older Women